Jan-Michael Vincent, ‘Airwolf’ Star, Dies at 74

Jan-Michael Vincent, who had a lengthy career in film and television across several decades and became famous in the 1980s as the star of the action series Airwolf, has died. TMZ reports Vincent passed away last month after a heart attack:

Jan-Michael actually died back on February 10 after suffering cardiac arrest while a patient at a North Carolina hospital ... according to the death certificate. We're told no autopsy was performed and he was later cremated.

Airwolf became a hit on CBS in the mid-1980s, with Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke, the pilot of the show’s highly-advanced helicopter. The series is remembered for its big action scenes and its iconic ’80s opening credits and theme song:

Before Airwolf, Vincent appeared in The Mechanic opposite Charles Bronson, and the action thriller White Line Fever among many other productions.Sadly, Vincent also struggled with drugs and alcohol which severely hindered his career, particularly in the years after his version of Airwolf left the airwaves in 1986 (one more season aired on the USA Network, sans Vincent and the rest of the original cast). TMZ specifically mentions that Airwolf lasted on CBS for“only a couple seasons largely in part to the star's cocaine abuse.” Despite his personal struggles, Vincent will be remembered as one of the signature television stars of the 1980s.